


Star light, Star bright

by colouring



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fairy Tale Style, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Self-Discovery, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 15:03:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11210523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colouring/pseuds/colouring
Summary: Hoshi, Wonwoo's beloved star, is sick with a cold that could potentially zap him of all of his light energy. Wonwoo must now leave his Asteroid home and travel around space to find the medicine Hoshi needs to be cured.The Little Prince AU.





	Star light, Star bright

**Author's Note:**

> AH my first soonwoo :') Hope it's not too weird or strange, I recommend sort of just. Taking things as they go in this story fnewirfwiono. Please excuse any odd logic udnfiweufiu.
> 
> This is dedicated to soonwoonet, for being the loveliest bunch of people ever and for accepting this filthie meanie :') fun fact I have not yet written a meanie so there we go.
> 
> Thank you to Boo Boo Fam ([kwonsoonday](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kwonsoonday) & [fruitcakes](http://archiveofourown.org/users/fruitcakes)) for always being supportive and for beta-ing at short notice. Im loves you two more than you know.

When Wonwoo wakes up, his room is a lot darker than usual.

 

It takes him a few minutes to register that there are still two moons in the sky, which means he has only slept for a third of the night. This irritates him. He has a busy day tomorrow of weeding out pesky baobab weeds, cleaning his two volcanoes and visiting the nearby asteroids and to carry out these tasks to the best of his abilities. He needs a full night’s worth of sleep so he doesn’t end up tired by midday. Wonwoo doesn’t like being tired. It dampens his mood and one time he missed a baobab weed and it grew so big so quickly,that his little asteroid home was very nearly crushed under its roots. Thankfully,he had an anti-growth serum to reverse the baobab’s size but even then, it had taken a good few weeks and a whole vial for the engorged weed to shrink to a manageable size.

 

Pulling the edge of his blanket over his head, Wonwoo squeezes his eyes shut to will himself to sleep. He fails spectacularly, tossing and turning for another third of the night, before he gets up and throws his blanket to the floor, pouting. What’s he going to do now? Yesterday’s rain means baobab weeds will be sprouting everywhere. There might not be enough hours in the day to uproot them all! He reckons he has a few drops of the anti-growth serum left at best, not nearly enough for a potential baobab uprising.

 

And what of Hoshi? The glass case surrounding the beautiful star won’t be enough to protect him from any baobab mischief. A thought occurs to Wonwoo: What if a baobab weed has grown inside Hoshi’s case? Unlikely, but the recent heavy rains could prove him wrong. Mind quickly spiralling to every potential bad scenario that could happen to his precious star, Wonwoo winds his yellow scarf tightly around his neck and bolts out his door, running towards the Northern fields.

* * *

 

The last moon of the night emerges from the clouds, bathing Asteroid 615 in a warm orange-pink hue. It’s a breathtaking view, but Wonwoo pays little attention to it, his eyes trying to gauge whether the subdued colour of his little star is the result of him not wearing glasses or lack of contrast against the bright moonlight.

 

“Hey Hoshi, can you hear me?”

 

The star pulses once in reply, shivering.

 

“Are you cold? Is this better?” Wonwoo asks, cradling the star with his scarf, “You can come inside with me you know. I know it comforts you to watch your brothers and sisters in the sky. I’m really worried that you’re out here by yourself and so far away from me too. Hoshi, you’re still awfully small and cold, are you sure you’re okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” Hoshi croaks, “I’ve just got a bit of a cold, nothing to worry about.”

 

“A cold!” Wonwoo gasps, “But that’s the third worst thing that can happen to a star. I have to get you some medicine, and cover you in blankets and fleece and, for heaven’s sake, you can’t stay here out in the cold.I have to take you inside.”

 

“Wonwoo, there’s no need to trouble yourself, I’ll get better. Just stay with me.”

 

“How could you say that? I’ve read stories of stars dying from the cold, and those were about the stars shining brightly in the sky. You, a shooting star who has fallen from deep space, how can I not be worried?”

 

“I said that’s enough,Wonwoo,” Hoshi says sharply, hurt laced in his voice.“There are plenty more stars who recover from their colds, and I’m as strong as any star up there.” He channels every bit of energy left in him to shine as brightly as he can. It lasts for a few seconds before Hoshi dims to an even paler colour, the shade looking even sicklier against the backdrop of Wonwoo’s golden scarf.

 

Eyes wide, Wonwoo bundles Hoshi even tighter and rushes back home with him in his arms. He makes the necessary preparations for an interplanetary trip, stuffing his [wallet?] into a bag and donning his pink-lined teal coloured coat. Suspecting a lengthy trip, he rushes to complete his chores, pulling the remaining baobab shoots and giving his volcanoes a mighty good scrub. When everything is in order, he carefully places Hoshi on the window ledge so he can still see his star siblings when he wakes up and perhaps catch a glimpse of Wonwoo’s teal coat hopping from one planet to the other. Perhaps it’ll make him feel less lonely. It certainly makes Wonwoo feel less guilty about leaving him on his own.

 

“Goodbye, my beautiful star.I won’t be long.”

 

* * *

 

Minutes after setting off, Wonwoo realises he hasn’t the slightest clue where to buy cold medicine from. Panic is  about to set in, when he remembers of a king living on a nearby asteroid. A king would surely know where to find cold medicine! Would he be a king if he did not have knowledge of his kingdom?

 

It doesn’t take long for Wonwoo to find Asteroid 808, where the king lives. For one thing, it is a huge asteroid, one of the biggest Wonwoo has ever seen. The king sits on top of a small yet magnificent throne, his long maroon robes draping over the entirety of the asteroid; Wonwoo has to carefully maneouver himself so as to not step on them. Besides these two striking things, there is not much else to see on this asteroid.

 

“My subject has arrived! Come, come my dear boy and bow to me before you speak.” The king’s voice booms out.

 

 _How bizarre of him to call me his subject when I have never met him before_ , Wonwoo thinks, but lowers his head down anyway. He will play along and see where it takes him.

 

“A most humble and polite subject you are, my boy. I grant you permission to speak.”

 

“Please,your Majesty, I am Wonwoo of Asteroid 717. I have come to ask if you know of anywhere I could find cold medicine. My beautiful star Hoshi has been afflicted by the third worst thing that could ever happen to a star, and I must find the medicine to save him.”

 

“Cold medicine? A king has no need for cold medicines, for he is always strong and healthy.” The king scoffs, “I find it insulting that you would think I would ever contract such ailments.”

 

Disappointed at the king’s unhelpfulness, Wonwoo replies, “Then I will be on my way. I hope you always stay strong and healthy, your Highness.”

 

“Wait!”

 

Wonwoo stops in his tracks and turns around, “Yes, your Kingliness?”

 

“I have not said that you can be dismissed. I forbid you to leave, my subject.”

 

“I’m sorry,your Majesty, but I really must go. I have someone I love to save and I cannot waste any more time entertaining you.”

 

“No, my subject, I mean, Wonwoo,” the King sputters, “Please don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone again.”

 

Wonwoo’s face softens. He looks around at the empty expanse around him, realising how lonely it must be for the king to live all by himself on such a big asteroid. “Is there no one on this asteroid besides you?”

 

At this, the king’s expression turns forlorn, “There was someone, once. He was the love of my life. We ruled over our asteroid happily together, side by side on this very throne. And when we were tired of ruling, we would snuggle together and look for the biggest star in the sky. I always found it first, but I pretended not to so that he would win. But one day, without warning, he disappeared without a trace, not even a lingering scent. I have been miserable since, waiting for him to come back. Do you think he will?”

 

“I don’t know. But have you done anything to try and find him?”

 

The king shakes his head. “I have not left this asteroid since he left me. I’m afraid that he willreturn one day and I won’t be here.”

 

“Well, maybe it’s time you went looking for him. You can’t just sit around and wait for him to show up. You have to fight for your love, your Majesty. If he really means anything to you, you should at least try.”

 

“Perhaps you’re right,my boy, but what if he doesn’t love me back? Then I will truly be miserable for eternity.”

 

The king begins to sob into his robes. Wonwoo feels sorry for leaving so hastily, but time is ticking and he has even more worries now. Amongst other things, whether Hoshi loved him back.

 

* * *

 

_“Please come inside with me, Hoshi.”_

 

_“I can’t. I have to stay out here with my siblings.”_

 

_“But why? They haven’t even come down from the sky to visit  you or anything!”_

 

_“Please,Wonwoo,” Hoshi pleaded, “I’m sorry, but you wouldn’t understand.”_

 

* * *

 

By sheer luck, Wonwoo stumbles across Asteroid 1122, a medium sized asteroid with a massive neon sign that says ‘The Star Shop: For all things Star’. Very promising. A small businessman with fluorescent green hair sits behind the counter, head down, furiously jabbing his calculator and scribbling numbers into a thick book. No amount of hand-waving and pleas of ‘Excuse me!’ catches his attention, not even when Wonwoo does both at once and uses his outdoor voice. Instead, the wrinkles on the man’s forehead deepen until they look like the canyons from back home. Worried that the lines will  become permanent on this otherwise young-looking forehead, Wonwoo reaches a hand across the counter to smooth them down. The businessman yelps in surprise and crashes to the floor.

 

“Can’t you see that I’m working?”

 

Wonwoo is taken aback at his sharp tone and stammers, “But what if the wrinkles remain, even after you finish all your work? I read somewhere that the first signs of premature ageing are forehead wrinkles and losing hair.”

 

“Firstly, I’ve been working since the day I got my first calculator, up until this very moment when you distracted me. That’s nearly 10 years. Do I look like I’ve aged any faster?” The man points to his slightly sore-looking scalp peeking through strands of green.

 

Wonwoo thinks it best to stay quiet.

 

“So,what do you want?” The man climbs onto his chair to continue his decades worth of work, “We’ve got stars, stars and more stars of all colours and sizes. The sky's the limit. And how much money you have.”

 

“No thanks, I already have a star. I’m looking for some Cold medicine please.”

 

The man suddenly stops scribbling and squints at Wonwoo. “Are you saying your star has been afflicted with the third worst thing that could ever happen to stars?”

 

“Yes, that’s exactly it! Would you be able to help me find some cold medicine for him?”

 

“Tough luck,buddy, you’re better off buying a new star.”

 

“A new star?” Wonwoo repeats incredulously, “My beautiful star is incredibly unique and can never be replaced! How could you even suggest such a thing?”

 

“Because it’s easier to replace than to repair? Repairing takes far too much time and money, both things I can’t afford to lose.”

 

“And what will you do with all that extra time and money?”

 

“Buy more stars,of course.”

 

“But what would you do with more stars?” Wonwoo wails, “How can you give each of them the love and attention they deserve? I have a hard enough time trying to do that with my Hoshi. No matter what I do, he’s always the most comfortable when he looks up at the sky.”

 

Wonwoo catches the glint in the green-haired man’s eye before he realises what he just confessed to a stranger who wanted to replace his Hoshi.

 

“ _Hum_ , a Hoshi you say? The proud and popular type …”

 

_There are other stars called Hoshi?_

 

“Certainly, there are many Hoshi-types out there, let me just get out my catalogue.” The man digs through his Star catalogue with trained eyes. “What you want is perhaps, a less flippant star, would you say? Someone who would reciprocate your feelings?”

 

Wonwoo thinks it best to remain quiet again, although this time it is more out of anger than wisdom. He doesn’t know how much longer he can hold it though.

 

“Here we are! Our range of Hoshi- wait,where did he go?”

 

* * *

 

In a flurry of emotions, Wonwoo sees black and bumps into an unsuspecting comet. The comet glares at him, for she still has a long orbit to go and now has to expend more energy to catch up, which means she may fizzle before she can complete her first orbit. Ashamed for having interrupted such a meaningful task, he apologises profusely at the comet’s disappearing tail while scolding himself for letting petty anger cloud his senses and judgement. Suddenly, the space around him turns dark. Minutes later, it is bright again, as if someone has flicked on the light switch. Then dark. Bright, Dark, Bright, Dark. Confused, he looks around and spots a miniscule asteroid with a lamppost and a lamplighter. Wonwoo puts two and two together and concludes that the lamplighter must have put out the light when he had his accident with the comet. _To think such a vacuous chore could be the culprit behind a comet’s unfinished journey!_ This makes Wonwoo upset, but having learned how petty anger affects him, he calms himself down before landing on the tiny asteroid.

 

“Excuse me,sir! Would you be so kind as to keep the light on? It makes it difficult for some of us to see where we’re going.”

 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. This is my job and I must keep going,” the lamplighter replies, dousing the light.

 

“Please,sir, I have to save the star that I love and it would be much appreciated if you could help me prevent any more accidents.”

 

The lamplighter ignores him, continuing to extinguish and ignite the fire in the lamppost.

 

 _How rude_ , Wonwoo thinks, but realises he may have come off as conceited with his request and asks, “What is that you do, Mr. Lamplighter?”

 

“I am responsible for creating day and night on this asteroid.”

 

Wonwoo looks around the empty space,“When there is not even anyone else here and the days and nights are so short?”

 

“As you love and are devoted to your star, so too am I, to my job.”

 

“But you don’t even know why you love your job!”

 

“Do you know why you love your star?”

 

“Because he has been with me all this time!” Wonwoo replies indignantly.

 

“Well, I, too, have been doing this job for as long as I can remember. Therefore, I love my job.”

 

“But what good is it doing to you? Or to anyone? The only thing you have managed to do is to facilitate accidents!”

 

The lamplighter stops to scowl at Wonwoo, “I find that incredibly rude and prejudiced. You were the one who bumped into the comet, not I. You have been the one inconveniencing others with your task, not I. And now that I have stopped my job to protest your accusations of me, I can no longer continue for I have lost all rhythm to it. I am now left to sit here and do nothing but remember why my friends have left me and why nobody wants me.”

 

In a different setting, Wonwoo would have immediately felt abashed at his brash actions and tried to encourage the lamplighter to not give up. In fact, if it were up to the normally sweet-hearted Wonwoo, the same Wonwoo who nursed and sheltered the four-pointed star Hoshi, he and the lamplighter would have become good friends, for Wonwoo admired the lamplighter’s loyalty. But alas, a boy who has begun to water the seeds of doubt in his heart has difficulty discerning between reality and fabrication, so he sets off, running away as fast as he can, to anywhere but here.

 

* * *

 

“Hey,you, little boy!”

 

Wonwoo looks over both his shoulders: nothing, except endless space. “You mean me?” he replies.

 

“Yes, you, little boy! Come here, come and admire me.”

 

And so Wonwoo comes face to face with an admittedly bright, pulsating star, who is only a few inches longer than him. Surely that is not enough basis to address him with such a paternalistic moniker, and to demand something of him at that. Wonwoo decides he does not like this conceited star very much.

 

“Sing me your praises, oh little boy with the teal coat!”

 

“And why should I do that?” Wonwoo has not had a very good day, and could not help the sneer in his voice.

 

“Because everyone has done it! All the stars, all my admirers, they take one look at me and can’t help but shower me with compliments; so much so that I have been forced to

 

“Well, let me be the first to refuse the invitation. Goodbye.”

 

“Ho, you might want to rethink that, little boy. There has only ever been one star that refused to praise me, and look where he is now! You’ve heard of the Fallen Hoshi?”

 

“Wait, how do you know Hoshi?”

 

“Who doesn’t know about Hoshi?” chuckled the conceited star, “ My rival, he was the biggest star there ever was, loved and praised by many and then one day, something cracked in him, and _poof_! Off he goes. A pity. Not that I’m complaining, because all of his admirers have devoted themselves to me now.”

 

Wonwoo feels anger bubbling in his voice. “Well, maybe Hoshi was sick of all the insincere love he was receiving.”

 

“Pfft, I really can’t think of any reason why he would choose to have one measly love over the thousands and millions he used to receive on the daily,” scoffed the conceited star. He pauses, then continues, “Although I guess if you’re a fallen star, you’d be desperate for _any_ kind of attention.”

 

“Take that back!” Wonwoo cries out, hot tears streaming down his face, “Take everything you said about my beloved Hoshi back, you horrible, conceited star!”

 

The horrible, conceited star tilts his head, looks at Wonwoo curiously. “Ah, so it’s you.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“There have always been rumours about why Hoshi fell the way he did. Us stars are very prideful,you see. To sacrifice any part of us for anyone, ANYTHING really, is both meaningful and humiliating.”

 

And before Wonwoo can ask any more questions, the conceited star shooes  him away, mumbling about wasting valuable breath on people who won’t respect him.

* * *

 

_There was never a time when Hoshi looked as happy as he did now, his whole body twinkling in delight as he described his favourite constellations. Now, Wonwoo thought, would be a good time to ask him about it._

 

_“Hoshi, how did you lose one of your points?”_

 

_Hoshi instantaneously clammed up, eyes turning to slits. “I thought I said we won’t speak about this again.”_

 

_“I know, but I’m worried,Hoshi. None of my books have ever said anything about a four-pointed star. I just want to know if there’s anything I can do to help fix it.”_

 

_“I said it’s fine,Wonwoo,” Hoshi snapped._

 

_Taken aback, Wonwoo replied, “I’m sorry, it’s just. I wish I could make you a little less...sad, you know?”_

 

_Hoshi realised he might have gone too far and shuffled to Wonwoo’s side, leaning against him. They stayed that way, admiring the landscape’s pink rock formations and the endless sky at the end of the horizon. Neither spoke, not until Hoshi saw sleepiness start to overcome Wonwoo._

 

_“It’d happened long before I fell, so don’t worry about it. I don’t regret it for even a second.”_

 

* * *

 

Wonwoo finds himself on a strange little asteroid, face to face with a tippler slouched on top of a table laden with both empty and unopened glass bottles. The stench of alcohol smacks him like a blow to the head, leaving him partially numb. Somehow, it feels good having his feelings just that bit diminished. Perhaps that’s what he needed right now: a couple of swigs of burning liquid to take the edge off the constant hammering in his head telling him what to do, what he should do. He knows he’s running out of time. He wishes he at least knew where he could find cold medicine in this godforsaken universe, but after visiting nearly every inhabited asteroid and coming out empty-handed each time, he doesn’t know if this elusive cure even exists anymore.

 

And then there’s the doubts. Oh, the doubts he had fought hard to diminish ever since Hoshi insisted on making his home in a glass case on the Northern Fields, far away from Wonwoo. No amount of scaremongering or begging would budge Hoshi’s mind: he was to stay out in the open so he could always see his siblings in the sky. Wonwoo had always found that such a strange reason to refuse a warm bed and a roof on top of his head, but stayed quiet after observing how Hoshi’s features softened whenever they talked about stars and constellations. It didn’t matter what grand gift Wonwoo gave to him that day, or how much fun they had exploring the canyons; Wonwoo could never make Hoshi replicate that expression.

 

Now he understands why. Though he had vehemently opposed everything the conceited star had to say about Hoshi, he knew there was some truth behind those words. He’s felt it, lived it nearly all his life, even before Hoshi fell to his asteroid. On the day he did fall, Wonwoo had been standing very close to the edge of the pink canyon, feelings of loneliness overwhelming him. He was truly glad he chose to investigate this bright thing that crashed instead of moving closer towards the edge of the canyon; it made him realise how quickly his loneliness could dissipate with even one other being by his side. This was before he got to know Hoshi, before he fell in love with him. Even if Wonwoo isn’t sure whether Hoshi loves him back, he can close his eyes and remember the cuddles they shared and that is enough to convince him.

 

Wonwoo imagines multiplying the happiness he feels with Hoshi a thousand times, a million times, the number of times equal to however many star admirers Hoshi had before he fell; how did he abandon all that to settle for Wonwoo’s one love? It doesn’t make sense. Wonwoo already feels sick from missing Hoshi. The thought of Hoshi abandoning him for the stars makes him crave the alcohol more and he approaches the tippler to ask if he wouldn’t mind sharing a bottle or two with him.

 

No response. Wonwoo tries to shake him awake again, this time with more force. The tippler’s limp arm moves to hang down the table, sending the empty bottle in his hand crashing to the ground. Wonwoo slowly backs away, the colour draining from his face. _Surely he’s not dead?_ A new fear takes root in Wonwoo’s mind. Hoshi, poor,sweet Hoshi, curled up in Wonwoo’s yellow scarf, coughing the last of his light out all alone on an asteroid he doesn’t even consider home, for god only knows how long it’s been.

 

How selfish, how inconsiderate Wonwoo has been! In the face of the very real possibility of Hoshi dying, Wonwoo has been collecting doubts and allowing them to fester to the point of losing all sense of humanity. For if he were to abandon Hoshi now, then there would be no reason for Hoshi to love him. He wouldn’t be any different to the King who wouldn’t fight for his love, the businessman who saw love as something replaceable orthe star who only thought of himself. All this time he had been scolding the lamplighter for ignoring his problems when he, himself, was close to reaching the same fate as the tippler.

 

Wonwoo resolves to acknowledge his feelings of inadequacy, but puts them aside so they do not cloud his judgment. For now, he has a star to save.

 

* * *

 

When Hoshi wakes up, the sky is darker than usual. The baobabs have grown, not as fast as they usually do thanks to Wonwoo’s anti-growth serum, but enough that any light streaming in from the moon or the stars is completely obscured. For once, Hoshi doesn’t care. His first thought goes to Wonwoo and where he could be. His heart sinks when he realises the lovely teal coat missing from its usual peg.

 

 _How long does he have left?_ The fact that he’s too weak to heave himself off the ledge suggests, not very long. He knew breaking off one of his points would make him fall from the sky and lose some of his lustre, but to catch a cold on top of it? Still, he doesn’t regret his decision; even in a different life, his decision would have been the same. Wonwoo, who never turned his gaze away from Hoshi, the Northern Star; Wonwoo, who whispered all his wishes to Hoshi in the dead of the night, clasping his fingers until they were white, begging to have his loneliness taken away; Wonwoo, who cried when he lost his Northern Star one night,but had so much room in his heart to love Hoshi, the fallen star, instead.

 

The only thing Hoshi regrets is how little time they spent together. He knew how much it upset Wonwoo every time he refused to come with him to his room, citing some bull reason about wanting to ‘stay close to his siblings’. As if any of the other stars cared a seed’s worth for him. No, the real reason, ironically, was so he could spend as many days as he could with Wonwoo. Stars are not meant to stay indoors, and this, paired with his already missing point, would make whatever light energy Hoshi had left decline faster. He couldn’t do that to Wonwoo.

 

If Hoshi knew he was going to catch a cold anyway, he would’ve spent all his days indoors if he had to, so long as it was with Wonwoo. All he can do now is wrap himself in Wonwoo’s yellow scarf as tight as he can, and hope Wonwoo will return soon.

 

* * *

 

Earth, Wonwoo realises, is a lot different from what it looks like in outer space. The blue parts are all water, not land as his wet shoes can tell, and the green-brown parts are not always green but can be black, white, pink, orange and many other colours he doesn’t know. Mostly they are grey, like the pavement Wonwoo is standing on. He opens up the scrunched piece of paper in his fist and tries to understand the instructions the Cartographer gave him to find a ‘pharmacy’ where he could ‘buy’ the cold medicine. Wonwoo was lucky to have come across the Cartographer after passing by numerous empty planets and asteroids. She was intelligent, helpful and very kind: she drew for Wonwoo a map to Earth, where they stockpiled cold medicine in rooms called ‘pharmacy’ then wished him good luck on his journey. Wonwoo is very grateful for her help, and makes a note to make a drawing for her when he returns.

 

Firstly though, he needs to find this room with the green snake-and-goblet sign. Wonwoo looks around. There are many rooms with many signs of various shapes and colours, but none are green or snake-and-goblet shaped. Wonwoo starts to panic a little, when he feels a finger tap his shoulder. He squeaks in fright.

 

“I’m sorry,did I scare you?” The stranger puts both his hands in front of his chest, his face apologetic, “You just seemed a little lost.”

 

Still frozen, Wonwoo meekly nods his head and hands his piece of paper to the person.

 

“Ah, are you looking for a pharmacy?”

 

Lighting up at ‘pharmacy’, Wonwoo nods again vigorously.

 

The person chuckles. “Well, you’re going the wrong way, it’s on the opposite road actually. I’ll take you there, if you’d like.”

 

The kind stranger takes him on a long-winded route to somewhere quieter with shorter rooms. He drops Wonwoo in front of a room with a sign saying ‘Boo’s Pharmacy’. Wonwoo thanks him profusely and kisses both his cheeks goodbye before entering the ‘Pharmacy’.

 

“Excuse me, please, are you the pharmacy?”

 

The person behind the counter, a boy with rosy pink hair, lets out a delicate laugh. Wonwoo wonders whether people working in pharmacies all have this special healing effect from just existing.

 

“Yes, this whole place is the pharmacy, and I,” he points to himself, “ am a pharmacist. My name is Seungkwan. How can I help you?”

 

“Please, Mr. Seungkwan, I’m looking for some cold medicine. Do you have any?”

 

“Of course we do! Are you looking for some syrup or would you prefer tablets instead?”

 

Wonwoo doesn’t have a clue. Seungkwan notices the boy’s eyes widen in fear and lets out another chuckle, “Alright, alright, don’t worry about it, let me see what I can find.”

 

After a few minutes of searching the shelves, Seungkwan reappears with a red box in one hand and a brown bottle in the other.

 

“So here we’ve got some Advil, which are tablets that you need to swallow with water. Some people who aren’t used to them find them a bit tricky to take, so if you find it difficult to swallow solid things, I wouldn’t recommend this.” He puts the box on the counter and waves the bottle. “Instead, I’d recommend getting this syrup, which are very easy to swallow. So which one would you like?”

 

Wonwoo furrows his brows. Then, he asks, “Which one would you recommend a star to get?”

 

“A star?”

 

“Yes, a star. My star has a cold and needs medicine to make get him better.”

 

Seungkwan blinks several times, confusion on his face, “I’m not sure if stars are even alive, let alone get sick…”

 

“Stars are very much alive,Mr. Seungkwan! They are bright and tenacious and so strong, even if they feel weak and sickly. They never give up, they only give and give and give: Love, passion, light, whatever they have.”

 

“Hm, I’m not sure you and I have the same definition of being ‘alive’...”Seungkwan trails off uncertainly, edging towards the phone.

 

But Wonwoo has learned from his encounter with the lamplighter that he shouldn’t judge people and says, “It’s okay if we have different definitions of alive, Mr. Seungkwan. For me, those traits are the most important things in life, and if something has them, then to me they are alive.”

 

Seungkwan stops shuffling and looks at the person in front of him. His tall stature suggests he is an adult, but nothing from what Seungkwan has observed so far with his behaviour points to this. Nonetheless, there is nothing Seungkwan could detect in him that might suggest he is lying, or very ill. He also makes a good point about differences, and Seungkwan decides there would be no harm in following along, so long as he takes precautions.

 

“All right, well I’m not too sure how stars work, so you can have a bit of both, would you be okay with that?” Wonwoo nods happily.

 

“Okay, that will be [x amount of money]”

 

Wonwoo hands Seungkwan a bunch of trinkets and some polished rocks. He sighs, “You’re not from around here, are you?”

 

“No, Mr. Seungkwan, I come from an asteroid called Asteroid 717. It’s pink and quite small, but really lovely.”

 

Seungkwan thinks whether he has enough energy to contest this claim. Unfortunately, it is 15 minutes to closing time, and he could really use all the hours of sleep he can get. Besides, no judgment.

 

“Tell you what, we can trade this for something valuable to you, how about that?”

 

Wonwoo considers this and agrees that this is fair. He decides to exchange the medicine for his teal coat; though he’ll miss it dearly, his sole focus is on Hoshi and his well-being, and if he had anything else more valuable, he would not hesitate to trade with it.

 

Seungkwan on the other hand is very reluctant to accept the exchange ( _“But this looks so expensive! And what about you, you’ll end up catching a cold too!”)_ , and insists Wonwoo could have the medicine for free. Wonwoo disagrees, and they banter back and forth for a few minutes, before Seungkwan gives up and accepts the coat.

 

“I hope your star friend gets better!” Seungkwan says cheerfully. Wonwoo holds the tablets and bottle protectively in both hands, as if he could lose them at any moment. He tries to make his way to the door, but for some reason his legs refuse to listen to him and he stands there in the middle of the Pharmacy, tucking his head in his chest.

 

“What’s wrong?” Seungkwan asks when Wonwoo hasn’t moved from his spot for five minutes.

 

“I’m scared Mr. Seungkwan,” a feeble voice quips out.

 

“What are you scared of?”

 

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know,Mr. Seungkwan, what if, what if my star gets better and stronger and won’t need me anymore? What if he decides that he’s sick of receiving love from measly old me,and wants to go back to the sky where he will be loved and admired by other people and other stars?” Wonwoo looks up, tears streaming down his face. “I don’t want that,Mr. Seungkwan, I want my star to stay with me forever and ever!”

 

Wonwoo rubs his eyes against his sleeve and continues, “I-I know I’m being selfish, but if he leaves, I’ll be so lonely and so unhappy. I love him,Mr. Seungkwan, even if he’s a bit difficult sometimes, he will apologise and hug me or give me a kiss on the cheek afterwards.. Even if he makes me sad sometimes, I am never as sad as when I didn’t have him! I don’t even know if he loves me back the same way.” Wonwoo sobs harder into his sleeve, sniffling his snot as best as he can, “I’m sorry for being like this \,Mr. Seungkwan, but I don’t know what to do.”

 

Wonwoo suddenly feels arms around him and a warm body hold him tightly.

 

“Shh,it’s okay, just let it all out.” Seungkwan murmurs softly, patting Wonwoo’s head. Wonwoo hugs him tighter and cries into his shoulder, all while Seungkwan whispers calming words and rubs circles onto Wonwoo’s back. After Wonwoo has completely dried out his tear ducts, Seungkwan pulls away gently and sits Wonwoo down.

 

“Let me tell you something about medicines here on Earth,” Seungkwan says, “When we want to test how good they are, we test them against something called a placebo, which is basically something that won’t have any effect on you. Then we give a group of people either the medicine or the placebo randomly, so no one knows whether they’re taking one or the other. In theory, people who take the medicine should get better, and people who take the placebo shouldn’t right?”

 

Wonwoo nods slowly, although he doesn’t really like that some people were being lied to.

 

“In reality, it’s not like that at all! A proportion of the people who take the placebo will say they feel better, even though they’re just taking, say,sugar water.”

 

“But how can that be!” Wonwoo says incredulously.

 

“Belief,” Seungkwan replies. “Those people believed that they were taking the medicine, and that in itself was enough to cure them! What I’m trying to say is that belief is very important, and it applies to relationships too. I’m not sure what happened, but I suspect along the way you saw something or heard something that made you doubt your star’s love.”

 

Wonwoo turns red at that, and hides his face in his hands.

 

“No, Don’t worry about it, it happens to all of us,” Seungkwan reassures, patting Wonwoo’s back,“What you need to do is talk to your star about your feelings. From the way you talk about him, I doubt he doesn’t feel the same way. But I don’t want you to think I’m belittling your feelings. So for now, let belief take you back home until you can see him, really _really_ see him for what he is and not what he says with an open mind, and confirm it yourself. Okay?”

 

The tears return, and Wonwoo jumps to give Seungkwan another big hug. When the time comes for Wonwoo to leave, Seungkwan shoves his coat back at him, threatening to not let him unless he takes it back. For the first time since he left his asteroid, Wonwoo laughs and gives Seungkwan one last hug. He continues to shout his thanks as he floats up into the night sky, disappearing with a bright flash of yellow. Seungkwan hopes that when he checks the stock tomorrow morning,there will be one box of Advil and one bottle of cold medicine missing. He hopes that the trinkets and smooth pebbles will still be on the counter. Most of all, he hopes he never forgets about the lovely boy in the teal coat.

 

* * *

 

When Hoshi wakes up, the room is so bright, he instinctively dives back into Wonwoo’s yellow scarf. Squinting his eyes as small as he can make them, he slowly pulls the wool away from his face and looks around. The sun is shining brightly through the window, the baobabs have all disappeared and Wonwoo is snoring quietly next to him. Wonwoo. Shocked, Hoshi comes closer and pets Wonwoo’s face to make sure he isn’t hallucinating. Soft, warm cheeks, but not just that. The golden shine on his point is back, radiating more brilliantly than ever. He realises then how energetic he feels, more than he has ever felt since he fell. _How could that be?_

 

“Hoshi, you’re awake.”

 

Hoshi turns to look at Wonwoo, all messy bed hair flying in wild angles. He sees the happiness building up in Wonwoo’s expression and before he realises it, he falls into Wonwoo’s embrace, breathing in his wonderful gingerbread scent. It hits him how long it has been since they hugged like this and it makes him cling to Wonwoo even more.

 

“I’m so happy the medicine worked, you’re okay again!” Wonwoo reluctantly pulls away to take a look at Hoshi, beaming in delight.

 

“I-I guess I am,” Hoshi murmurs in bewilderment, “How did you do it?”

 

“Cold medicine! Tons and tons of it. There was a really nice pharmacist called Mr. Seungkwan who gave them all for free, he wouldn’t even take my coat…” Wonwoo trails off. His eyes glaze over  “Hoshi, I can’t believe how beautiful and bright you look. How do you feel?”

 

“Better. So much better.” Hoshi says, “I haven’t felt this energetic since I crashed onto your asteroid. It feels like I can just go back up and shine the way I used to.”

 

“That’s good.” Wonwoo gulps. “Do you...have any plans of ever doing so?”

 

Hoshi doesn’t miss Wonwoo’s face falling slightly, even as he tries to maintain his smile. “No, of course not, why would I ever want to go back?”

 

“You don’t? Really?”

 

“Yes, really, Wonwoo. I don’t ever want to go back. I’d be so far away from you, you’d be lonely and...I’d be lonely too.”

 

“Then why do you always insist on staying with your siblings?”

 

_Ah, looks like my lies have finally caught up with me._

 

“Wonwoo, the truth is, I didn’t fall because of a ‘natural occurrence’.”

 

Wonwoo’s head perks at this, confusion written on his face.

 

“I made myself fall when I broke off one of my points. It was the only way to decrease my light energy enough for me to be unsuitable to stay as the Northern Star.”

 

 _Northern Star?_ Wonwoo thinks. _All this time his Hoshi had been his Northern Star?_ Tears begin to well up in Wonwoo’s eyes as he imagines the pain Hoshi must have went through to sacrifice one of his precious points.

 

“The problem with that was I couldn’t stay indoors for too long, or else I would lose all my energy. I didn’t want that. I wanted to stay alive for as long as I could, because the only reason I fell was so I could be with you.”

 

Hoshi stops to control his breathing, before continuing, “I’m sorry I lied to you, I was too ashamed about what I did, and I was scared you wouldn’t love me the way you loved the Northern Star.”

 

“All this time I-I thought,” Wonwoo blubbers in between sobs, “I thought you didn’t love me. At least, not the same way I did.”

 

“No, that’s not true!” Hoshi protests, “No, no, no, oh god Wonwoo, I’m so sorry I ever made you feel like that.”

 

Hoshi moves closer to let Wonwoo rest his head against him. He strokes Wonwoo’s hair lovingly, kissing his head over and over again until Wonwoo calms down. They stay that way, awkwardly against each other, shifting and making compromises wherever they can until everything fits. Such is the nature of their love: a love better left without words, better navigated when they see with their hearts.

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING as always any and all constructive feedback are welcome! Feel free to holla at me @cheolnu on twitter.


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